Table of Contents
Moots Overview
Kent Eriksen started Moots1) Bicycles in 1980 out of Steamboat Springs, Colorado 2). Moots continues today to make beautiful, mostly titanium, mountain bikes: https://moots.com/
Moots’ niche in the bike industry is well established. They make gorgeous, shockingly expensive bikes for people who want refined, grown-up rides. pinkbike
In 1984, Kent invented what we now call bar-ends; those nifty, multi-position gadgets found on so many mountain biker’s handlebars today. 3)
Kent left Moots in 2005, and continues to produce custom bikes part time in collaboration with Brad Bingham from Kent Eriksen Cycles and Bingham Built Bikes.
Kent Eriksen, ca. 1981
kenteriksen.com
1981 Mountaineer
At the very beginning all Moots bicycles were polished and perfect. Kent states he built a mountain bike for himself in 1980, but no pictures exist and hence the Moots timeline starts at 1981.
1981 Mountaineer
retrobike
1982 Mountaineer
Shimano Deore RD-DE20 touring long cage (1981) rear, XT front (1982-3)
1982 Mountaineer
socketsetcycles
1983 Mountaineer
Four water bottle cages? All Moots were custom, and every detail was taken care of.
1983 Mountaineer
mombat
1985 Mountaineer
Outfitted for mountain trekking. Those wooden knobbies sticking out front are the first “road levers,” aka bar ends.
1985 Mountaineer
mtbr
1986 Mountaineer
Every customizable option selected.
1986 Mountaineer
moots.com
1987 Mountaineer
Cool internal front brake routing.
1987 Mountaineer
pinkbike
1988 Zirkel
Named after local Mount Zirkel. Moots mounts are now bolted in, rather than strapped. Cool front brake cable routing. Full Shimano Deore XT.
1988 Zirkel
generationmountainbike.com
1989 Zirkel
flickr
Extra
Moots/Eriksen bikes had a few pioneering features which should not be forgotten. For example, the Moots Mounts to the right allowed for adjusting wheel sizes by simply moving the brake mount clamps up or down. Thus, you can switch from 26“ to 650b/27.5” with a screw driver, rather that having to throw out your frame4). All early Moots frames had clamp on brake mounts.
Or, as mentioned previously, Moots invented “bar ends,” which were actually wooden meditation balls which acted as a precursor to aero bars than bar ends. In any case, they're cool and someone should make them again.
Production Notes
[1]. 320 frames by 1985, 240 of them mountain bikes. Roughly 50/year. Perhaps less the first year. See: http://mombatbicycles.com/MOMBAT/BikeHistoryPages/Moots.html
1)
freehubThe name Moots came from a pre-Mr. Bill, Gumby-like 2-inch rubber alligator that Eriksen had kept since the 3rd grade